Seller Financing in Williamsbridge & Wakefield, Bronx: 2-Family Homes

Today's bank rate vs. a typical seller-finance rate

When a Williamsbridge & Wakefield owner sells with financing, the owner becomes the lender. Most owners price that loan off what banks charge: homeowners typically ask about 2 percentage points more than the national average 30-year rate, with a 5-year balloon payment, or an extension if both sides agree to one in the contract. The numbers below update every week.

About Williamsbridge & Wakefield

Williamsbridge and Wakefield cover a long stretch of the northern Bronx along White Plains Road, from around Gun Hill Road north to the Mount Vernon city line, with the Bronx River to the west. White Plains Road is the spine of both, with the elevated 2 train overhead and a long run of storefronts below: groceries, bakeries, barbershops, restaurants, tax preparers and phone stores. The area first grew around stops on the Harlem Railroad in the nineteenth century, then filled in with houses after the elevated subway line reached the northern end of White Plains Road early in the twentieth century.

Off the main road, the side streets are mostly lined with detached and semi-detached houses on somewhat larger lots than the attached rowhouses farther south, many with front porches, driveways and small yards. Frame houses from the early 1900s mix with brick two-family homes from the mid-century and newer infill. Gun Hill Road and East 233rd Street are the major cross streets, and the Metro-North stations at Williams Bridge and Wakefield run direct trains to Grand Central. For buyers, this is one of the parts of the Bronx where a detached two-family house with a yard is a realistic target rather than an exception.

Getting around: 2 train, plus some rush-hour 5 trains, on White Plains Road from Gun Hill Rd to Wakefield-241 St; Metro-North Harlem Line at Williams Bridge and Wakefield

What you will find for sale

• Detached two-family wood-frame houses from the early 1900s, often with front porches, aluminum or vinyl siding, and a long side driveway leading to a rear garage.
• Semi-detached brick two-family houses from the mid-twentieth century, typically with one apartment per floor and a finished or partly finished basement.
• Newer brick two- and three-family houses built since the 1990s on subdivided lots or former garage sites, often with parking in front.
• Small mixed-use buildings and walk-ups along White Plains Road, with stores beneath the elevated tracks and apartments on the floors above.

Why seller financing fits Williamsbridge & Wakefield

Two-family houses are the core of the market here, and many buyers plan to live in one unit and rent the other. Lenders will count some of that future rent, but buyers who are self-employed, paid partly in cash, working through a staffing agency, or using an ITIN often cannot qualify for the loan amount a two-family price requires. The houses raise flags too. A cellar converted into a third apartment, a porch enclosed without permits, or an old frame house that needs a roof and new wiring can push a bank to require repairs before it will close.

Many Williamsbridge and Wakefield houses have stayed with one owner for decades, and a good number are paid off. Owners planning to relocate sometimes prefer a monthly payment that follows them, secured by a house they know, over a lump sum and a long search for a bank-approved buyer. Heirs who inherit a two-family together may find that a note lets one buyer, sometimes a current tenant, purchase the house on a schedule everyone can accept. Because these houses already produce rent, a seller can usually see how the buyer expects to cover the payments.

The 5 terms you will negotiate

Every owner-financed deal comes down to five numbers. Here is what each one means, what is typical in New York City right now, and how they work on an illustrative Detached 2-family frame house in Williamsbridge & Wakefield.

How to buy owner-to-owner in Williamsbridge & Wakefield

1. Find owners open to financing. Start with Williamsbridge & Wakefield properties on the SellerFinanceNYC live map, where every listing is checked against ACRIS deed and mortgage records. Owners who have held a building for decades with no open mortgage are the most likely to carry a note.
2. Offer on all five terms at once. Price, down payment, rate, amortization and balloon trade off against each other. Put them in a short written term sheet so nothing gets lost.
3. Hire a New York real estate attorney. Your attorney drafts or reviews the contract of sale, the promissory note and the mortgage, and confirms the seller has no existing loan with a due-on-sale clause. See our guide to finding an attorney.
4. Do local due diligence. In Williamsbridge & Wakefield, check:
   • Many two-family houses here have a basement or attic apartment missing from the certificate of occupancy; budget to remove or legalize it, and do not count that rent yet.
   • Older frame houses deserve a thorough inspection for rotted sills, termite damage, outdated wiring and tired roofs, problems that newer siding can hide from a casual walkthrough.
   • Check Department of Buildings records for porch enclosures, rear extensions and garage conversions, which are common on these blocks and were sometimes built without permits.
   • Sidewalk repair is the property owner's responsibility in New York City; look up any open DOT sidewalk violations at the address, which often trace back to tree roots on older blocks.
5. Close like a normal sale. The deed transfers to you, you sign the note, and the seller's mortgage is recorded with the City Register. Buy title insurance, and consider a loan servicing company to collect payments and escrow taxes and insurance.
6. Plan the balloon from day one. Use the five years to build a payment record, fix up the building and document income so you can refinance well before the balloon is due.

Questions buyers ask about Williamsbridge & Wakefield